Van der Garde begins legal hearing against Sauber

Giedo van der Garde is to start legal proceedings against the Sauber Formula 1 team, claiming he was unfairly dismissed by the Swiss team last year

Giedo van der Garde is to start legal proceedings against the Sauber Formula 1 team, claiming he was unfairly dismissed by the Swiss team last year.

The Dutch driver acted as Sauber's test driver in 2014, running in practice sessions at seven Grand Prixs, and says he was expecting to be retained by the team.

However, Sauber opted to drop the Dutch driver in favour of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, who have been handed the two race seats for the 2015 season. Ferrari academy driver Raffaele Marciello was recently announced as Sauber's reserve driver, leaving no space for van der Garde.

The Dutchman has begun legal action at the Victorian Supreme Court and according to reports in the Australian media, is expecting to be on the grid for Melbourne for the Formula 1 season opener next week.The legal hearing is scheduled to begin next Monday (9th March).

Van der Garde competed for Caterham in the 2013 F1 season after graduating as the team's test driver, before switching to Sauber last year.